May 9 incidents benefit Pakistan’s ‘enemy’: Marriyum

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb Monday said the May 9 incidents had only benefitted the “enemy”, but it was the nation who ultimately emerged victorious with the foiling of conspiracy against Pakistan. Ironically, she said, the “foreign agent”, who masterminded the May 9 tragedy made a tweet the other day asking who benefited from the May 9 tragedy. “Only the enemies of the country benefitted from the acts of vandalism and arson, but the people of Pakistan are the ultimate winners as the conspiracy against the country’s integrity has been foiled,” she said while addressing a press conference. The minister was responding to a question posed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman on his Twitter handle asking who was benefited from the May 9 incidents of vandalising public and private properties, desecrating memorials of martyrs, and burning of ambulances, schools and mosques by the PTI workers. Marriyum said the PTI chairman claimed that his party was the biggest one in the country, but it exited only on Twitter as it had no credible spokesperson. In fact nobody wanted to come forward to defend the persistent lies churned out by its chairman. He was a “habitual liar” and “mentally deranged person” and there was apparently no hope of his recovery, she added. Referring to the recent statement of Shahzad Akbar regarding Nawaz Sharif, she said those who had previously hurled accusations of thievery at others at the behest of PTI chief, were now testifying the innocence and integrity of Nawaz Sharif. She pointed out that a group of individuals, operating from abroad, was actively orchestrating a malicious campaign against the state institutions through social media platforms. The “group of troublemakers” were not even hesitant to launch unwarranted attacks against several prominent figures and institutions, she added. They were the same people who were involved in the targeted campaigns against the martyrs of the Lasbella helicopter crash and the incumbent army chief, the minister remarked. “All these people are proxies of this foreign agent, liar and fraudster,” she said while referring to the PTI chief. Marriyum said the ongoing campaign against national institutions was being spearheaded by the PTI chairman who made systematic efforts to discredit and destabilize the state institutions through the misuse of social media platforms. She expressed surprise over the PTI chief’s contradictory claims, ranging from fears of assassination to potential murderous attacks on him. She questioned the efficacy of using a mere bucket as a protective measure, emphasizing that such makeshift shields offered a little defence against such threats. Furthermore, she highlighted that the Federal Investigation Agency had substantial evidence against those who were involved in social media campaigns against national institutions, which was currently undergoing further scrutiny and investigation. The minister declared that individuals who were engaged in dangerous games under the guise of freedom of speech had been effectively tracked and traced, and made it unequivocally clear that the PTI chief would be responsible if any harm or damage was caused by such actions. She recalled that at first place, the PTI chairman had stated if he were arrested then there would be consequences, and at the time of his arrest he said there would be reaction. It all showed that he had planned the May 9 incidents and now strangely, he was asking who was the beneficiary. The minister also drew a comparison between the PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderships, saying the latter faced severe victimization during the PTI regime without making any hue and cry. She accused the PTI chief of fabricating false cases against his political opponents, including Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah, Faryal Talpur, and others, who endured the hardships of being confined to jail cells. Recalling a specific incident, the minister recounted how Imran Khan, upon receiving a warrant in a dignified manner at Zaman Park (Lahore), incited his supporters to engage in violent acts, hurling petrol bombs and pelting stones at personnel of law enforcement agencies, including Rangers. She alleged that Imran Khan used women and children as human shields while hiding inside his residence. Regarding Imran Khan’s allegations of corruption and money laundering against the PML-N leaders and other political opponents, she argued that despite wielding significant state power, the PTI chief failed to substantiate those claims with concrete evidence. She highlighted the fact that during the PTI’s tenure, his opponents consistently obtained bail on merit, further questioning why he did not produce evidence when he had unrestrained authority for four years. In Maryam Nawaz’s case, the judge said no evidence presented before the court during the entire proceedings which could prove the crime, she added. The minister called the PTI chief a “mad man” saying he could not mislead the whole nation which fully knew that he was a liar and foreign agent.